Potato food product



Patented June 25, 1935 I I UNITED STATES PATENT-OFFICE POTATO FOOD PRODUCT George P. Miller, Naperville, Ill.

No Drawing. Application December 1, 1933, Serial No. 700,565

6 Claims. (01. 99-8) This invention relates to improvements in food state being 'in the nature of a cutting, or slicing products, and more particularly to a new food operation and not a mashing or extruding operaproduct, the base of which is the substance of the tion under pressure, in order that the physical ordinary white potato, structure of the potato will not be altered. I The object of the invention is to provide a food The potato in its shredded state is then intro- 5 product essentially different in taste and a'ppear duced immediately into a closed vessel or chest ance from potato in the forms in which it is orthrough which steam is allowed to pass for a predinarily prepared for consumption, and characdetermined short period of time, the temperature terized particularly by a solid yet decidedly plastic of the steam at slightly more than atmospheric I 10 consistency permitting its use'in various new and pressure being approximately 225 F. The result 10 novel ways both alone or in combination with of the steam treatmentis two-fold: First, the other iood products. steam circulating through the mass, subjects each The following is a full disclosure of the prodparticle to an enzyme retarding action, and, secnet and the, preferred method of producing the ondly, the ingredients of the potato undergo a samez' definite chemical and. physical change essential l5 It is to be understood at the outset that the to the desired qualities and properties of the ulfinished product is a semi-prepared food'quite timate product. The retardation of the enzyme edible although not altogether palatable, and action is of importance in that it preserves the hence further cooking such as frying is desirable natural potato color of the product until such so in order to bring out the full flavor and render time as it is consumed, and otherwise insures the it more suitable for consumption. Moreover, .the uniformity of quality and appearance. product is preferably put up in sealed containers In the matter of the chemical and physical for storage and distribution or packed asa canned change that takes place by reason/of the steam, product by'the' usual'canning process. it will be borne in mind that the raw substance 26 As already stated, the base of the product is of the potato is starch in the form of granules 4 the substance of the ordinary white potato, in its composed of minute rings or annular layers arraw state and composed largely of water and .ranged concentrically about a nucleus. 'Thus starch, the latter in the form of closely knit cells when the starch granules are exposed to steam, or granules. In its raw state the white potato in they swell up and burst, this physical change 30 common with certain other vegetables and fruits, being accompanied by the 'conversion of the 30 is particularly susceptible to enzymatic actionv starch into a number of complex organic comwhen exposed to the atmosphere, causing rapid pounds, including dextrine, simple sugars and discolorationunless retarded or neutralized either amylopectin, the latter a gelatinous substance by heat, as by boiling or other method of cooking, of a somewhat opalescent appearance.

or by the addition of some neutralizing agent Thus with the thorough impregnation-of the 35 such as certain organic acids. shredded mass by the steam, each shred main- It is primarily because of the difficulty of eftains its original form, although undergoing both iectively or completely eliminating enzyme 3.0- a physical and chemicafchange', consisting oi. the tion that the white potato, either in its raw or conversion of the starch in the surface layers 40 cooked state, has not been preserved or canned into amylopectin, accompanied by a swelling of with any degree of success or having been so the particles and their change to a soft jelly-like treated, has not retained its natural color or qualconsistency somewhat opalescent in appearance. ities. 7 Now, inasmuch as the continued action of the However, it is possible by the process herein dissteam upon the mass would in time reduce it toa closed to alter the chemical structure of the natstate of solution, it is important that the steam ural ingredients of the potato to such an extent treatment be carried only to the point of conas to not only produce afstable product, that is, verting the starch into a homogeneous mass not subject to enzyme action, but one that lends made up of the gelatine-like particles, and hence itself to many uses in which neither the appearthe steam treatment is continued only for a rela-.

ance nor the ordinary flavor of a cooked potato tively short period, say three (3) minutes, after is discernible. which the shredded mass is removed from the The first step in the process of preparing the steam chest preparatory to immediate use or for product is to peel the potatoes, then divide or canning or other modes of preserving. In thisshred them into fine string-like particles, the reconnection it will be observed thatthe time 00-- duction of the potato to a divided or shredded cupied by the steam treatment may vary somewhat under difierent operating conditions, although itis a rather simple matter to determine by experiment the precise period of treatment.

In the event it is desired to can the product for commercial distribution or preserve it for future use, the usual canning or preserving methods may be followed, namely, the packing of the shredded mass into cans or other containers, sealing them and subjecting them to heat for a given period of time. For the most satisfactory results, the canned product is processed at temperatures ranging from 230 F. to 240 F. for periods from 80 to 140 minutes, the time being shortened with'the increase in the temperatur of the steam used in the processing operation, and vice versa.

As the result of the processing, the product is necessarily again subjected to relatively high temperature treatment, but as already pointed out, this does not; essentially alter either the physical characteristics of the product or the The product as it comes from its can or con-- tainer, has practically the same consistency as it does immediately prior to canning, namely, a solid plastic mass uniformly moist and dense throughout, with its shredded texture preserved. Thus on removing the product from the can it retains its solidity to the extent that it can be readily sliced with a .knife.

The uses of the product as an article of food are too numerous to recite. Perhaps the simplest form in which it may be served is the slicing of the contents of a can as it is extruded from one end thereof into thin circular patties and frying them in deep vfat, the result being a thoroughly cooked wafer having a crisp brown surface layer.

As a prepared article of food, it is scarcely recognized as qpotato either in appearance or flavor, resembling more the taste of rice, but at the sametime quite pleasing and. altogether digestable. Again, being of a plastic consistency, the product can be rolled out to a thin layer and thus made the covering or envelope for other articles of food, such as sausage, and when fried in deep fat makes a very appetizing article of food, such as would be dispensed from a booth or sold over a counter for immediate consumption. n the other hand, it can be served in various forms and combinations for home cons'umption, making it a convenient, nourishing and appetizing addition to the menu.

Having set forth the nature and characteristics of the product, together with the process for its making and preparation for consumption,

I claim as my invention:

1. The process of preparing the substance of white potato for subsequent cooking, consisting of reducing" the peeled potato to a finely divided texture without destroying its cell structure, and subjecting "the finely divided particles to contact with steam until eachparticle acquires-a sticky gelatinous coating of the partially converted starches.

2. The process of preparing white potatoes in a form for subsequent cooking, consisting of reducing the raw potato to a mass of shredded particles and passing steam through the mass for a relatively short period of time, whereby each individual particle undergoes a partial conversion of its starch content to sugars in the form of a sticky gelatinous coating.

3 The process of preparing white potatoes for subsequent cooking, consisting of shredding the raw potato without destroying its natural cell structure, introducing the shredded mass into a closed vessel, and passing steam through the mass within the vessel until each individual shred is coated with a sticky gelatinous substance composed of the resulting conversion products of the starches into sugars including amylopectin.

4. The process of preparing white potatoes for subsequent cooking, consisting of shredding the raw potato, immediately introducing the shredded mass into a closed vessel, and passing steam through the vessel until the mass is reduced to a partially converted state in which the individual shreds are coated with amylopectin.

5. The process of preserving white potatoes for subsequent cooking, consisting ofshredding the raw. potato withoutflestroying its natural cell structure, immediately introducing the shredded mass into a closed vessel, passing steam through the mass within the vessel until each individual shred is coated with a sticky gelatinous substance composed of the resulting conversion products of the starches into sugars including amylopectin, and finally preserving the product in sealed containers.

6. The process of preserving white potatoes for subsequent cooking, consisting of shredding .the raw potato without destroying its natural cell structure, immediately introducing the shredded mass into a closed vessel, passing-steam through the mass within the vessel until each individual shred is coated with a sticky gelatinous substance composed of the resulting conversion products of the starches into sugars, packing the product in sealed containers and processing the same under/predetermined temperature conditions.

GEORGE P. MILLER. 

